Reaching the Heart of Your Child

Summary

This service falls during the church's weeks of prayer and fasting, and the message, preached by brother Oleg, turns to the family and the raising of children. He insists that good parenting begins with the parents themselves: we must keep learning, because every child is different and each one is, in a sense, raised for the first time.

Parenting cannot be left to chance. He points to how little time we actually spend with our children compared with school, screens, and the surrounding culture, warning that if we do not enter their world, someone else will shape it. Drawing on Titus 2 and Romans 8, he urges parents to lean on God's grace and to keep their children rooted in the Word, in prayer, and in the church.

The goal is children who can one day live without us, yet live rightly and godly. Sharing how time spent fixing dirt bikes and an old car turned his son into a friend, he calls parents to put down the phone, find time, and reach the heart of each child, bringing them up in the instruction of the Lord rather than provoking them.

Key Points

• Good parenting starts with the parents, who must keep learning how to raise each child
• Every child is unique, so raise them intentionally and systematically, not by chance
• We need God's grace and wisdom to raise children in this generation (Titus 2:11-12)
• Children spend far more time with school and screens than with us; if we don't shape them, the culture will
• Nothing can separate us or our children from God's love when we abide in Christ, His Word, prayer, and the church (Romans 8:38-39)
• Children copy what they see, so let them see Christlike character in us
• Reach your child's heart by entering their interests, bringing them up in the Lord and not provoking them (Ephesians 6:4)